Ground penetrating Radar, Glacier limit, Arctic, Spitsbergen, Polar glacier,

The structure, functioning and dynamics of polar marine ecosystems are strongly influenced by the extent of sea ice. Ice algae and pelagic phytoplankton represent the primary sources of nutrition for higher trophic-level organisms in seasonally ice-covered areas, but their relative contributions to polar marine consumers remain largely unexplored. Here, we investigated the potential of diatom-specific lipid markers and highly branched isoprenoids (HBIs) for estimating the importance of these two carbon pools in an Antarctic pelagic ecosystem. Using GC-MS analysis, we studied HBI biomarkers in key marine species over three years in Adélie Land, Antarctica: euphausiids (ice krill Euphausia crystallorophias and Antarctic krill E. superba), fish (bald notothens Pagothenia borchgrevinki and Antarctic silverfish Pleuragramma antarcticum) and seabirds (Adélie penguins Pygoscelis adeliae, snow petrels Pagodroma nivea and cape petrels Daption capense). This study provides the first evidence of the incorporation of HBI lipids in Antarctic pelagic consumers. Specifically, a di-unsaturated HBI (diene) of sea ice origin was more abundant in ice-associated species than in pelagic species, whereas a tri-unsaturated HBI (triene) of phytoplanktonic origin was more abundant in pelagic species than in ice-associated species. Moreover, the relative abundances of diene and triene in seabird tissues and eggs were higher during a year of good sea ice conditions than in a year of poor ice conditions. In turn, the higher contribution of ice algal derived organic matter to the diet of seabirds was related to earlier breeding and higher breeding success. HBI biomarkers are a promising tool for estimating the contribution of organic matter derived from ice algae in pelagic consumers from Antarctica.

Bromocriptine, Corticosterone, Egg temperature, Egg rotation rate, Incubation behavior, Parental care, Pygoscelis adeliae, Prolactin, Seabird,

Hormones regulate many aspects of an individual's phenotype, including various physiological and behavioral traits. Two hormones have been described as important players in the regulation of parental investment in birds: the glucocorticoid hormone corticosterone and prolactin, a pituitary hormone, widely involved in mediating parental behavior. In comparison with corticosterone, the role of prolactin on parental investment remains poorly documented, and most studies so far have been correlative. In this study, the effects of an experimental decrease of prolactin levels on the incubation behavior of a long-lived seabird species were assessed. Male Adelie penguins were treated with self-degradable bromocriptine pellets, inhibiting prolactin secretion. Filming and subsequent video analysis allowed the determination of a behavioral time budget for birds and their position on the nest, while dummy eggs recorded incubation parameters. Incubation duration and breeding success at hatching were also monitored. As expected, bromocriptine-treatment significantly decreased plasma prolactin levels, but did not affect corticosterone levels. The behavioral time budget of penguins was not affected by the treatment. However, treated birds spent significantly more time in an upright position on the nest. These birds also incubated their eggs at lower temperatures and turned their eggs more frequently than controls, resulting in a lengthened incubation period. Despite this, the treatment was insufficient to trigger nest desertion and eggs of treated birds still hatched, indicating that several endocrine signals are required for the induction of nest abandonment. We suggest that the decreased prolactin levels in treated birds offset their timeline of breeding, so that birds displayed behavior typical of early incubation.

Egg temperature and rotation rate, Glucocorticoids, Incubation behaviour, Pygoscelis adeliae, Seabird, Weather conditions,

Corticosterone, the main stress hormone in birds, mediates resource allocation, allowing animals to adjust their physiology and behaviour to changes in the environment. Incubation is a time and energy-consuming phase of the avian reproductive cycle. It may be terminated prematurely, when the parents' energy stores are depleted or when environmental conditions are severe. In this study, the effects of experimentally elevated baseline corticosterone levels on the parental investment of incubating male Adelie penguins were investigated. Incubation duration and reproductive success of 60 penguins were recorded. The clutches of some birds were replaced by dummy eggs, which recorded egg temperatures and rotation rates, enabling a detailed investigation of incubation behaviour. Corticosterone levels of treated birds were 2.4-fold higher than those of controls 18 days post treatment. Exogenous corticosterone triggered nest desertion in 61% of the treated birds; consequently reducing reproductive success, indicating that corticosterone can reduce or disrupt parental investment. Regarding egg temperatures, hypothermic events became more frequent and more pronounced in treated birds, before these birds eventually abandoned their nest. The treatment also significantly decreased incubation temperatures by 1.3 degrees C and lengthened the incubation period by 2.1 days. However, the number of chicks at hatching was similar among successful nests, regardless of treatment. Weather conditions appeared to be particularly important in determining the extent to which corticosterone levels affected the behaviour of penguins, as treated penguins were more sensitive to severe weather conditions. This underlines the importance of considering the interactions of organisms with their environment in studies of animal behaviour and ecophysiology.